The Framers Forum

Prospero wrote this Tuesday 15th.
I think its better as a separate topic.

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What makes a board worthy of the sobriquet 'conservation' ?

There are boards with much higher acid content the cream core. By that principle a cream core board
is conservation relative to one that a a higher acid content. Or nothing at all.

What it says on the tin is often highly misleading.

Can you elaborate on this comment please

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What do framers make or understand by the FATG licence system > Example below

Do we need to beat ourselves up over these conservation board issues?
I would keep things simple. Offer and stock two types of board - Museum and not Museum. What's to bother about the price difference either when most of the retail price is for the service offered.
Isn't the term "conservation" a bit pretentious anyway. I'd say it's better to say the board is Good Quality.
If the artwork merits it or the customer prefers, use museum board. For everything else it's the Good Quality board.

Museum.

That's another 'buzz' word. I've seen more than a few mounted pictures in museums with brown bevels.

And much else besides.

Ah yes, brown bevels. I actually have a personal taste for a brown bevel. I often come across old prints and watercolours in foxed and yellowing mounts and the effect can be quite beautiful.

The Guild licence means that you are assured that any board displaying the licence stamp meets or exceeds industry agreed standards for that particular category of board.

Apologies, I should have attached this link too!
http://fineart.co.uk/Guild_Mountboard_L ... ramme.aspx

Antique dealers love cream core mountboard and to some extent brown bevels as well. I had always done well using cream core mountboard for items that I used to sell through the auctions. Anything that looks too new tends to deter the buyers.

Old engravings were often mounted using cream core mountboard. I guess that it was done originally to save money, but maybe it's almost a sign of authenticity after all this time.

The Guild licence means that you are assured that any board displaying the licence stamp meets or exceeds industry agreed standards for that particular category of board.

how comes Nielsons alphamat artcare does not have this "stamp"?

I came across some sample corners last night. They must be nearly 20 years old.
They were cream core board that I had done some washline samples on. I couldn't
help noticing that the bevels were not brown. They were just about 'new' condition.
Not bad considering they were not enclosed under glass.

What's that all about then?

They weren't under glass and exposed to light. Keep them in the dark and the oxidation rate is much slower. Put them in sunlight and they'll be brown before your tea has finished brewing!

I ordered some cream core mountboard today. I use it to mount old adverts, old illustrations from The Illustrated London News, The Graphic, The Sphere, Cassells Family Paper and many others. It's just a little side line of mine.

I've got loads of this sort of stuff, left over from my second hand bookshop back in the 1990's and there is still a market for this stuff. The shops around this part of the country, which used to sell this stuff are long gone, but are places where you can still get something for it, if you are not expecting too much money for it.

I ordered some grey board for backing these before inserting them into polyester bags. Sorry to say this, but grey board doesn't look too new and makes them easier to sell. I know that cream core and grey board is not the best, but my buyers don't want them looking too new. They need to look old!

Not your average framer wrote: They need to look old!

I call that good marketing ....Giving the customer what they want !

muffinski wrote:how comes Nielsons alphamat artcare does not have this "stamp"?

That's probably a question you should ask Nielsen. They will be best placed to answer.

In the photo in the OP , the mount is 300 Pearl, a White Core , the Cream Core version numbers is 800, so the Guild Label is correct in this instance , so I can't see anything misleading on the tin